Senate confirms Sen. Mullin as DHS secretary. And, Iran denies U.S. talks to end war

## Summary
And, Iran denies U.S. talks to end war March 24, 2026 7:13 AM ET By Brittney Melton Negotiations With Iran, Trump On Deal With Iran, ICE Impact On Airport Lines Listen · 13:26 13:26 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/g-s1-114942/nx-s1-mx-5759002-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Good morning. Trump's comments on the talks came as he backed away from threats of attacking Iran's energy infrastructure if Iran didn't open the Strait of Hormuz by yesterday. Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Getty Images 🎧 An Israeli official informed NPR that the U.S. is planning for talks to happen within the coming days in Pakistan. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images Over the weekend, the Trump administration positioned a Christopher Columbus statue on White House grounds, doubling down on its efforts to celebrate the 15th-century explorer.

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Senate confirms Sen. Mullin as DHS secretary. And, Iran denies U.S. talks to end war
March 24, 2026
7:13 AM ET
By
Brittney Melton
Negotiations With Iran, Trump On Deal With Iran, ICE Impact On Airport Lines
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After nearly a month of the U.S. and Israel bombing Iran
, President Trump said yesterday that in-depth conversations are currently underway with Iran. Trump's comments on the talks came as he backed away from threats of attacking Iran's energy infrastructure if Iran didn't open the Strait of Hormuz by yesterday. The president has delayed his deadline for attacking Iran until the end of the week. However, Iran's Foreign Ministry said, "
There is no dialogue
between Tehran and Washington."
Commercial vessels are seen in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, in northern Ras al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, on Sunday.
Getty Images
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Getty Images
🎧
An Israeli official informed NPR that the U.S. is planning for talks
to happen within the coming days in Pakistan. Iran's Foreign Ministry says that the U.S. reached out to the country seeking discussions to end the conflict. Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan are actively involved in de-escalation efforts and officials from the three countries met in Saudi Arabia last week to discuss containing the war. NPR's Aya Batrawy tells
Up First
one of the challenges the talks face is that there is
no trust between Tehran and Washington
. In addition, with Iran's top leaders being killed in the conflict, it is uncertain who will represent Iran in the talks. Trump has set tough conditions for peace, including no nuclear enrichment by Iran, a demand Iran rejected prior to the war. Israel also wants conditions that could lead to regime change.
🎧
Trump said Iran called wanting to negotiate a deal and that the U.S. is talking to a "top person"
in the country's regime, but Trump did not reveal their identity. The president said the person the U.S. is talking to agreed Iran would never pursue nuclear weapons. NPR's Franco Ordoñez says it is evident that Trump is
eager for a swift deal
, especially as midterms approach and oil markets struggle. Ordoñez adds that if the U.S. and Israel can resolve the war quickly, before gas prices surge, Trump and his party could weather this conflict successfully.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrived at around a dozen airports
across the U.S. yesterday. The agents were deployed to the airports amid many Transportation Security agents calling in sick or resigning after going over a month without pay due to a partial government shutdown. Despite ICE agents' presence, the first day of their placement still found many travelers dealing with long security lines.
🎧
ICE agents have been seen walking near main security checkpoints
, mainly patrolling the area rather than assisting with security lines, according to Sofi Gratas with Georgia Public Broadcasting. In Atlanta, the mayor said that ICE would focus on crowd control in domestic terminals and report directly to TSA officers. The TSA Union opposes agents working security, arguing they lack the necessary training to perform that role. The union also expressed
frustration that ICE agents are being paid
while TSA officers are not. Gratas says most travelers she spoke with questioned the need for ICE at the airport, since they mostly seemed to be wandering around. One traveler did express support for ICE's presence to Gratas and praised the president for sending them.
The Senate confirmed Sen. Markwayne Mullin yesterday as the new secretary of Homeland Security.
The
54-45 confirmation vote
puts the Oklahoma Republican in charge of immigration enforcement, which is a major priority for Trump's second term. Mullin will be replacing Kristi Noem, making him the second secretary to lead the agency during this Trump administration. He assumes leadership in the midst of a shutdown that has forced 100,000 of the department's more than a quarter-million employees to work without pay.
Living better
A bite from a Healthy Choice Chicken Fried Rice frozen meal, which includes chicken, rice, carrots and edamame in a sesame sauce. Healthy Choice, a Conagra brand, has a line of frozen meals labeled "On Track," geared toward GLP-1 users.
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Beck Harlan for NPR
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about what it takes to stay healthy in America.
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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
N/A

### Areas for Consideration
N/A

### Implications
- And, Iran denies U.S. talks to end war March 24, 2026 7:13 AM ET By Brittney Melton Negotiations With Iran, Trump On Deal With Iran, ICE Impact On Airport Lines Listen · 13:26 13:26 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/g-s1-114942/nx-s1-mx-5759002-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Good morning.
- In addition, with Iran's top leaders being killed in the conflict, it is uncertain who will represent Iran in the talks.
- Israel also wants conditions that could lead to regime change. 🎧 Trump said Iran called wanting to negotiate a deal and that the U.S. is talking to a "top person" in the country's regime, but Trump did not reveal their identity.
- Ordoñez adds that if the U.S. and Israel can resolve the war quickly, before gas prices surge, Trump and his party could weather this conflict successfully.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers iran, trump, npr topics. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 1269.